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Sunday, July 15, 2007

The end of the week, in numbers



4 Stitches our team mate needed to close a wound over his eye on Saturday when he bent over to fix a water pump in his storage room and was rudely stopped by a protruding wooden paddle used for stirring matoke. Perhaps the first team injury directly attributable to matoke?
13 Number of team mates who happened to drop in for other reasons during the Saturday afternoon suture session on our kitchen table, and watch with interest. No privacy here.
25 Number of kilometers on a spectacular hilly dirt road mountain bike loop that six women on our team rode together on Saturday morning.
24 Number of those kilometers that seemed to be straight uphill . . .
7 The number of women who began the ride that six finished—one slipped in loose sand and gravel and got pretty scraped up, though she’s fine now. We had to call our ambulance, Scott for a rescue. This was unrelated to the 4 stitches. We get lots of injuries here . . .
3 The number of stitches Jack will have removed tomorrow, amazingly not infected and still holding together in spite of serious wrestling and other wildness. He even managed to write left-handed all week, though a back-log of homework did nearly push him over the edge on Friday.
4 The number of HIV positive people who stood up to give public testimonies in church this morning, encouraging others to be tested, to access care, and calling on the community to stop discrimination against positive people. Unexpectedly, the first one asked an elder in the church to stand up and pray for Scott, me, and Pamela to have the strength to care for them! It was a meaningful moment for me, to be prayed for in this way. We have had lots of dramas about AIDS, but I have rarely seen this kind of public courage to be identified as infected.
4/11 The proportion of the university sponsorship quota for students graduating from A-level (Senior 6) in Bundibugyo that went to CSB students! The results were announced Friday.
49, and 62 The number of people (including team) who were at our house for dinner on Thursday night . . And the number of pizzas we turned out of our oven to feed them. We had a short visit from a US Naval Academy student group on a short term missions trip. Though they only had 16 people compared to the last team of 21 . . . It shows that midshipmen have a healthier appetite than Charismatic Episcopals?
? 6 Hours of desk time I feel like I need to even begin to catch up on life after this intense week (i.e. Clean up, plan, write emails)
0 Hours so far accessed for above (but we have had some good family time, good food, and good sleep!).

I save the best for last:
5/12 The proportion of months that people have already pledged to cover for nutrition costs!!! Amazing. Another blog commenter says she’s pulling 32 people together to each give $50 . . . If she manages that will be half the year. Still holding out for six (or seven) more!!

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